Methods and apparatus to determine mobile device application usage in vehicles including media applications

ABSTRACT

An example apparatus includes an impression logger to store mobile device impressions, the mobile device impressions corresponding to usage of a mobile device application to access first media; a classifier to determine whether a first number of detections of a first service set identifier (SSID) during a first time period satisfies a detection threshold, determine whether a second SSID was detected for a second time period that satisfies a time threshold, increment a counter when the detection threshold and the time threshold are satisfied, classify the first SSID as a vehicle SSID when the counter satisfies a quantity threshold; a logic circuit to, when the first SSID is a vehicle SSID, determine that at least one of the mobile device impressions occurred while the mobile device was in a vehicle.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent arises from a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 15/487,198, filed on Apr. 13, 2017. U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/487,198 is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This disclosure relates generally to determining mobile device usage invehicles, and, more particularly, to methods and apparatus to determinemobile device application usage in vehicles including mediaapplications.

BACKGROUND

In recent years, car manufacturers, working closely with varioussoftware application developers, have been improving the technologywithin vehicles. In-vehicle infotainment systems may have various musicplaying software or GPS software programmed into the vehicle itself.

Applications being developed for the software in vehicles are alsopresent on many different mobile devices, such as smart phones andtablets. Some application users have a preference for the mobile phoneapplication, some application users have a preference for the in-vehicleinfotainment application, and some users may use both.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an example wireless application monitoring system.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example system to receive and processmobile device and vehicle application usage.

FIG. 3 is an example Service Set Identifier (SSID) detection log.

FIG. 4 is an example mobile device application usage log.

FIG. 5 is an example vehicle infotainment application usage log.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart representative of machine readable instructionsthat may be executed to implement the mobile device application ratiodetermination process.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart representative of machine readable instructionsthat may be executed to implement the classification of car SSIDsdetected by wireless monitoring devices.

FIG. 8 is a processor platform diagram to implement the block diagram ofFIG. 2 and to execute the instructions of FIG. 6 and FIG. 7.

The figures are not to scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In recent years, car manufacturers have increased the technologicalcapabilities of their vehicles. Vehicles now have the computing power tooperate like any other mobile device. Many such vehicles have similarapplications and functionalities as mobile smartphones. These vehicleshaving wireless communication capabilities are otherwise known asconnected cars.

Among other functions, such as facilitating telephone calls andproviding directions, these vehicles also often contain audio and visualmedia presenting applications, such as a music streaming service. In thepast, a user wishing to listen to music in the car would need to have acompact disc (CD) or connect their mobile device to the Bluetooth systemin the car. Now, the connected car system can stream music from theinternet without utilizing the network connectivity of a mobile device.

In upgrading the vehicles to include these new media presentingapplications, car manufacturers work alongside the producers of mediapresenting software. The same application created for a vehicleinfotainment system is likely available for use on any general laptop,tablet, or smartphone. Having duplicate applications, users now have theoption to use the same application on one of several devices whiledriving.

Producers of media presenting software, such as music streaming servicesthat have applications for both mobile devices and in-vehicleinfotainment systems don't have the means to see, on a market-widescale, how often users of their software utilize a given in-vehicleinfotainment application (e.g., in-vehicle media device application)versus the corresponding mobile device application when in a connectedcar.

Differentiating the usage patterns of users utilizing these applicationscould help producers of media presenting software best allocate theirresources into the platforms that are most used.

Audience measurement entities, such as The Nielsen Company LLC, use avariety of means to gather information from panelists who provide userinformation helpful in determining the habits of the general population.Audience measurement entities can use many different techniques todetect mobile device application usage or in-vehicle infotainmentapplication usage, however there is still the challenge of determiningwhich device is used when both are available to the end user.

In accordance with the present disclosure, audience measurement entitiescan now classify certain times when the mobile device was in a connectedcar either by computer algorithm or human inspection, ascertain whatmobile device applications were used while the mobile device was in aconnected car, and ascertain what vehicle infotainment applications wereused while a mobile device was in the car.

Many vehicles on the road, either by manufacturer design or aftermarketdevice alterations, have and transmit an SSID. The SSID is an identifierthat can be used by wireless devices or people to easily recognizepossible wireless connections that are detected by a device, such as amobile device, a laptop, etc. SSIDs are also used by wireless networksfound in houses and businesses.

A mobile device user who owns a connected car, will often connect theirmobile device automatically to the connected car by recognizing thevehicle SSID. The mobile device can automatically detect and connect tothe vehicle wireless connection. It is through this connection that theuser can utilize the mobile device to stream music or make phone callsthrough the in-vehicle infotainment system.

While a mobile device is connected to a connected car's infotainmentsystem, the mobile device is still able to detect the SSIDs of vehicles,stores, houses, and businesses that are broadcasting their SSIDs. Inmany instances, the mobile device is not connecting to the devicesbroadcasting their SSIDs, but identifying the presence of these SSIDs.

Audience measurement entities can leverage the detection of a pluralityof networks (e.g., SSIDs) while detecting or being connected to a singlewireless network as a means of identifying the presence of a mobiledevice in a connected car. For example, a mobile phone detecting oneSSID while a plurality of other SSIDs come and go out of range isindicative of a mobile device being in a connected car.

Audience measurement entities can also receive information frompanelists about mobile device application usage. The information caninclude what application was used, when the application was used, forhow long the application was used, and any SSIDs the phone detected orwas connected to during the use of the application. Audience measuremententities can also receive information from panelists about in-vehicleinfotainment application usage via in-vehicle media device impressiondata. The information can include what application was used, when theapplication was used, for how long the application was used, and theSSID of the vehicle.

Using the information provided, an audience measurement entity canreasonably determine when a mobile device was in a connected car. Thisinformation can be examined against mobile device application usage datato determine if a mobile device application was used while the mobiledevice was in a connected car. Additionally the information receivedconcerning mobile device application usage and in-vehicle infotainmentapplication usage can be used to determine if a mobile device was in acar while an in-vehicle infotainment application was used.

This application usage information, divided into time segments (e.g.weekdays and weekends, mornings and evenings, rush hour or not etc.) ortaken as an overall quantity can be provided to producers of mediapresenting software and car manufacturers for quantifying a user usagepattern of mobile device application usage and in-vehicle infotainmentapplication usage. Knowing who uses which software, when they use ordon't use the software, and how often they use or don't use the softwarecan greatly improve the ability of producers of media presentingsoftware and car manufacturers to meet the needs of their customers.

FIG. 1 is an illustrated example of an application monitoring system100. The application monitoring system 100 of FIG. 1 is adapted formonitoring a usage of in-vehicle infotainment applications and mobiledevice applications. An example audience measurement entity 102receives, via a wireless network 104 (e.g., network communications),application usage data associated with a vehicle 106. The examplevehicle 106 includes a vehicle infotainment system 108 (e.g., in-vehiclemedia device), a mobile device 110, and a user 112.

The example vehicle 106 of the illustrated example can be a connectedcar, manufactured to include the vehicle infotainment system 108, or avehicle with aftermarket devices including the vehicle infotainmentsystem 108. The example vehicle infotainment system 108 of theillustrated example includes a media presenter 114, a user interface116, an infotainment application 118, a wireless transceiver 120, anapplication detector 122, and an impression detector 124.

In the example of FIG. 1, the vehicle 106 interacts with the mobiledevice 110 via the wireless transceiver 120 on the vehicle 106 and awireless transceiver 126 on the mobile device 110. The example mobiledevice 110 could be implemented using a smartphone, tablet, laptop orsimilar portable computing device. The example mobile device 110includes the wireless transceiver 126, a media presenter 128, a userinterface 130, a mobile application 132, an application detector 134, anSSID detector 136, and an impression detector 138.

The example mobile device 110, through the wireless transceiver 126,interacts with the vehicle 106 by first detecting an SSID 140transmitted by the wireless transceiver 120. The mobile device 110 canoptionally connect with the vehicle 106 after it has detected the SSID140. Detection of the SSID 140 by the wireless transceiver 126 activatesthe SSID detector 136, which instructs the impression detector 138 totransmit an SSID impression (e.g., a message, packet, etc.) to theexample audience measurement entity 102. In some examples, thetransmitted SSID impression includes user and/or device identificationinformation. In some examples, the impression detector transmits eachimpression individually upon the detection of an impression while inother examples the impression detector stores impressions and transmitsmultiple impressions in batches, either at a regular time interval(e.g., daily, weekly) or upon detecting a number of impressions (e.g.,10 impressions, 50 impressions, 100 impressions etc.).

In the illustrated example, as the vehicle 106 moves about the exampleapplication monitoring system 100, the vehicle 106 passes withinwireless range of an example vehicle 150 that transmits an SSID 152 viaa wireless transmitter 154. An example building 160, which could be ahouse, store, or other facility containing a wireless network, transmitsan SSID 162, that may be detected by the vehicle 106, via a wirelesstransmitter 164. The vehicle 106 may encounter any number of differentexample vehicles 150 or different example buildings 160 as it movesthrough the application monitoring system 100.

To gather SSID impressions, the mobile device 110 detects SSID 152 ofthe example vehicle 150 and SSID 162 of the example building 160.Detection of either SSID 152 or 162 activates the example SSID detector136, which instructs the impression detector 138 to transmit an SSIDimpression to the example audience measurement entity 102. In someexamples, the impression detector 138 transmits each impressionindividually upon the detection of an impression while in other examplesthe impression detector 138 stores impressions and transmits multipleimpressions in batches, either at a regular time interval (e.g., daily,weekly) or upon detecting a number of impressions (e.g., 10 impressions,50 impressions, 100 impressions etc.).

The example user 112, being a passenger or driver of the vehicle 106,can control the example vehicle infotainment system 108 (e.g. in-vehiclemedia device) and the example mobile device 110 via their respectiveuser interfaces 116 and 130. User 112 interaction with the vehicleinfotainment system 108 or the mobile device 110 includes, for example,an instance of usage of the example infotainment application 118 or theexample mobile application 132 respectively.

In some examples, activation of the infotainment application 118 (e.g.,in-vehicle media device application usage) or the mobile application 132will cause the respective media presenter 114 or 128 to access audio,visual, or both audio and visual media. The media to be presented can beeither stored in the respective device or streamed via a wirelessnetwork.

In the illustrated example, activation (e.g., instance of usage) ofinfotainment application 118 or mobile application 132 activates therespective example application detector 122 or 134. In such an example,the application detector 122 or 134 instructs the example impressiondetector 124 or 138 to transmit an application impression or a batch ofapplication impressions to the example audience measurement entity 102.In some examples, the application impression includes user and/or deviceidentification information.

Additionally, the example mobile device 110 in wireless communicationwith the vehicle 106 can present via the example media presenter 114,audio, visual, or both audio and visual media from the example mobileapplication 132. The presentation of media at the media presenter 114 ofmedia from the mobile application 132 activates the example impressiondetector 138 which transmits a mobile application impression to theaudience measurement entity 102.

In the illustrated example, impressions received by the audiencemeasurement entity 102 from impression detectors 124 and 138 are storedin an example database 170. The example database 170 may additionallyinclude an SSID detection impression database 172, a mobile applicationimpression database 174, and a vehicle application impression database176.

Impressions corresponding to the vehicle infotainment system 108 and/orthe mobile device 110 could be collected using any suitable mediaimpression techniques including those techniques disclosed in Blumenau,U.S. Pat. No. 6,108,637, which is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety, in international patent application no.PCT/US11/52623, filed on Sep. 21, 2011, which is hereby incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety, Burbank et al., U.S. Pat. No.8,930,701, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety, and Mazumdar et al., U.S. Pat. No. 8,370,489, which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the example audience measurement entity 102to receive and process impressions or impression batches from theexample vehicle 106 and the example mobile device 110. In some examples,the audience measurement entity 102 can be implemented with variousdatabase proprietors or at a single example database proprietor.

In the illustrated example, the example audience measurement entity 102receives data via a data receiver 202. The example data receiver 202interacts with the vehicle infotainment system 108 and the mobile device110. In the illustrated example, the data receiver 202 receivesinformation via the wireless network 104, however in other examples, theinformation could be sent via wired communication or various othersimilar data communication methods.

The example data receiver 202 interacts with an impression logger 204.The example impression logger 204 logs mobile device impressions andin-vehicle infotainment impressions sent by their respective impressiondetectors 124 and 138 of FIG. 1. The example impression logger 204 canlog both application impression logs and SSID impression logs receivedfrom the impression detector 124 or 138. Additionally, the exampleimpression logger 204 is capable of logging individual impressions or aplurality of impressions received at the data receiver 202.

In the illustrated example, the impression logger 204, after processingan impression from the example data receiver 202, sends the impressionto the appropriate database. The impression logger 204 classifies theimpression and can send the impression to the SSID detection impressiondatabase 172, a mobile application impression database 174, or a vehicleapplication impression database 176. Additionally or alternatively theaudience measurement entity may have additional databases or fewerdatabases to record the processed impressions.

The example SSID detection impression database 172 stores informationincluding a mobile device identifier, the SSID detected, the start dateand time of detection, and the duration of detection. Additionally oralternatively, the SSID detection impression database 172 can includethe end date and time of detection.

An example service set identifier (SSID) classifier 212 accesses theexample SSID detection impression database 172 and determines if aselected SSID detected by the example mobile device 110 of FIG. 1 is avehicle SSID. For example, the SSID classifier 212 may classify theselected SSID as the vehicle SSID if the selected SSID is detected atleast three times a week and 8 other SSIDs are detected during the sameperiod of time as the selected SSID. In other examples, the number oftimes the selected SSID must be detected in a week or the number ofSSIDs detected together with the selected SSID may be greater or fewer.

Both the example mobile application impression database 174 and theexample vehicle application impression database 176 of FIG. 1 storeapplication impressions sent from the mobile device 110 and the vehicleinfotainment system 108 respectively. Information collected with respectto these impressions include, for example, the identifier of the examplevehicle 106 or mobile device 110, identification of the application,start time and date of the application use, and duration of use of theapplication. Additionally or alternatively, the information includes theend time and date of the application use, an application user ID, and/orinformation concerning the content presented via the application.

In the illustrated example, SSIDs classified as a vehicle SSID will besent to a classified SSID database 214. In some examples, the classifiedSSID database 214 is included in the database 170 of FIG. 1.Additionally or alternatively, classified SSIDs can be provided byvehicle manufacturers, vehicle owners, or gathered in another fashion.

An example device ratio determiner 216 accesses the SSID detectionimpression database 172, the mobile application impression database 174,the vehicle application impression database 176, and the classified SSIDdatabase 214 to determine a ratio of mobile application 132 usage toinfotainment application 118 usage while the example mobile device 110is located within an example vehicle 106. For example, the device ratiodeterminer 216 can identify a period of time when the example mobiledevice 110 is located within the example vehicle 106, as shown in FIG.1, based on detection of properly classified SSIDs from the classifiedSSID database 214. The example device ratio determiner 216 then comparesthe mobile application 132 usage from the mobile impression database andthe infotainment application 118 usage from the vehicle impressiondatabase and determines the ratio the usages.

In various examples, the device ratio determiner 216 can show the ratioof mobile device application usage to vehicle infotainment applicationusage overall by comparing application usage of the same applicationavailable on the example mobile device 110 and the example vehicleinfotainment system 108. Additionally or alternatively, the exampledevice ratio determiner 216 can evaluate all panelists, a subset ofpanelist according to various demographic categories, and/or individualpanelist.

FIG. 3 is the example SSID detection impression database 172 of FIG. 1.In the illustrated example, the SSID detection impression database 172includes a mobile device identifier column 302, a date and time column304, an SSID detected column 306, and an SSID detection duration column308. In one example, the SSID classifier 212 of FIG. 2 accesses the SSIDdetection impression database 172 and, for example, evaluates the SSIDdetected in the first row 320. The SSID classifier 212 identifies thatat least two other SSIDs 322 were detected while the SSID in the firstrow 320 was detected. In another example, the SSID classifier 212evaluates the SSID detected in the eleventh row 324 and determines thatno other SSIDs are detected while the SSID in the eleventh row 324 isdetected.

In some examples, the SSID detection impression database 172 can includeadditional or fewer fields. The example SSID detection impressiondatabase 172 can include a user identifier and end time and date of SSIDdetection.

FIG. 4 is the example mobile application impression database 174 ofFIG. 1. In the illustrated example, the mobile application impressiondatabase 174 includes a mobile device identifier column 402, anapplication column 404, an application start time column 406, and anapplication duration column 408.

In some examples, the mobile application impression database 174 caninclude additional or fewer fields. The example mobile applicationimpression database 174 can include the end time and date of theapplication use, an application user ID, and/or information concerningthe content presented via the application.

FIG. 5 is the example vehicle application impression database 176 ofFIG. 1. In the illustrated example, the vehicle application impressiondatabase 176 includes a vehicle SSID identifier column 502, anapplication column 504, an application start time column 506, and anapplication duration column 508.

In some examples, the vehicle application impression database 176 caninclude additional or fewer fields. The example vehicle applicationimpression database 176 can include the end time and date of theapplication use, an application user ID, and/or information concerningthe content presented via the application.

In one example, the device ratio determiner 216 of FIG. 2 accesses theSSID detection impression database 172, the mobile applicationimpression database 174, and the vehicle application impression database176 and evaluates mobile device application usage when an example mobiledevice 110 is in an example vehicle 106. The example device ratiodeterminer 216 determines a period of time indicating the mobile device110 is located within the vehicle 106, such as, the SSID detection logfirst row 320 time period. Further, the device ratio determiner 216determines mobile device 110 and vehicle infotainment system 108application usage during the same or similar time periods by identifyingimpressions, such as, a row 420 of the mobile application impressiondatabase 174 and vehicle infotainment application usage log rows 520. Inthis present example, user 112 of FIG. 1 accessed a music app on themobile device 110 as indicated by row 420 but switched to a musicapplication on the vehicle infotainment system 108 upon entering theexample vehicle 106 as suggested by row 522.

While an example manner of implementing the audience measurement entity102 of FIG. 1 is illustrated in FIG. 2, one or more of the elements,processes and/or devices illustrated in FIG. 2 may be combined, divided,re-arranged, omitted, eliminated and/or implemented in any other way.Further, the example data receiver 202, the example impression logger204, the example SSID detection impression database 172, the examplemobile application impression database 174, the example vehicleapplication impression database 176, the example SSID classifier 212,the example classified SSID database 214, the device ratio determiner216, and/or, more generally, the example audience measurement entity 102of FIG. 1 may be implemented by hardware, software, firmware and/or anycombination of hardware, software and/or firmware. Thus, for example,any of the example the example data receiver 202, the example impressionlogger 204, the example SSID detection impression database 172, theexample mobile application impression database 174, the example vehicleapplication impression database 176, the example SSID classifier 212,the example classified SSID database 214, the device ratio determiner216, and/or, more generally, the example audience measurement entity 102of FIG. 1 could be implemented by one or more analog or digitalcircuit(s), logic circuits, programmable processor(s), applicationspecific integrated circuit(s) (ASIC(s)), programmable logic device(s)(PLD(s)) and/or field programmable logic device(s) (FPLD(s)). Whenreading any of the apparatus or system claims of this patent to cover apurely software and/or firmware implementation, at least one of theexample, the example data receiver 202, the example impression logger204, the example SSID detection impression database 172, the examplemobile application impression database 174, the example vehicleapplication impression database 176, the example SSID classifier 212,the example classified SSID database 214, the device ratio determiner216 is/are hereby expressly defined to include a tangible computerreadable storage device or storage disk such as a memory, a digitalversatile disk (DVD), a compact disk (CD), a Blu-ray disk, etc. storingthe software and/or firmware. Further still, the example the exampleaudience measurement entity 102 of FIG. 1 may include one or moreelements, processes and/or devices in addition to, or instead of, thoseillustrated in FIG. 2, and/or may include more than one of any or all ofthe illustrated elements, processes and devices.

A flowchart representative of example machine readable instructions forimplementing the audience measurement entity of FIG. 1 is shown in FIGS.6-7. In this example, the machine readable instructions comprise aprogram for execution by a processor such as the processor 812 shown inthe example processor platform 800 discussed below in connection withFIG. 8. The program may be embodied in software stored on a tangiblecomputer readable storage medium such as a CD-ROM, a floppy disk, a harddrive, a digital versatile disk (DVD), a Blu-ray disk, or a memoryassociated with the processor 812, but the entire program and/or partsthereof could alternatively be executed by a device other than theprocessor 812 and/or embodied in firmware or dedicated hardware.Further, although the example program is described with reference to theflowchart illustrated in FIGS. 6-7, many other methods of implementingthe example audience measurement entity 102 may alternatively be used.For example, the order of execution of the blocks may be changed, and/orsome of the blocks described may be changed, eliminated, or combined.

As mentioned above, the example processes of FIGS. 6-7 may beimplemented using coded instructions (e.g., computer and/or machinereadable instructions) stored on a tangible computer readable storagemedium such as a hard disk drive, a flash memory, a read-only memory(ROM), a compact disk (CD), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a cache, arandom-access memory (RAM) and/or any other storage device or storagedisk in which information is stored for any duration (e.g., for extendedtime periods, permanently, for brief instances, for temporarilybuffering, and/or for caching of the information). As used herein, theterm tangible computer readable storage medium is expressly defined toinclude any type of computer readable storage device and/or storage diskand to exclude propagating signals and to exclude transmission media. Asused herein, “tangible computer readable storage medium” and “tangiblemachine readable storage medium” are used interchangeably. Additionallyor alternatively, the example processes of FIGS. 6-7 may be implementedusing coded instructions (e.g., computer and/or machine readableinstructions) stored on a non-transitory computer and/or machinereadable medium such as a hard disk drive, a flash memory, a read-onlymemory, a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, a cache, arandom-access memory and/or any other storage device or storage disk inwhich information is stored for any duration (e.g., for extended timeperiods, permanently, for brief instances, for temporarily buffering,and/or for caching of the information). As used herein, the termnon-transitory computer readable medium is expressly defined to includeany type of computer readable storage device and/or storage disk and toexclude propagating signals and to exclude transmission media. As usedherein, when the phrase “at least” is used as the transition term in apreamble of a claim, it is open-ended in the same manner as the term“comprising” is open ended.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart representative of an example method 600 tocalculate a ratio of time spent on mobile applications 132 toinfotainment applications 118 when a mobile device 110 is located withinan example vehicle 106. The example method 600 can be performed at leastin part by machine readable instructions executed at the exampleaudience measurement entity 102 of FIG. 1. Additionally oralternatively, the example method could be done at least in part by themobile device 110 and/or the vehicle infotainment system 108.

The data receiver 202 receives from the impression detector 138 on theexample mobile device 110 an impression or a batch of impressions ofdetected SSIDs and/or application usages (block 602). For example, anSSID impression can be sent by the impression detector 138 on the mobiledevice 110 after the mobile device 110 detects SSID 152 of the examplevehicle 150. The example impression logger 204 then allocates theimpressions to their corresponding databases: SSID detection impressiondatabase 172 or mobile application impression database 174.

The data receiver 202 receives from the impression detector 124 on theexample vehicle infotainment system 108 an impression or a batch ofimpressions of vehicle infotainment application usages. For example, anapplication impression can be sent by the example impression detector124 after the example user 112 activates infotainment application 118.The example impression logger 204 then sends the impressions to thevehicle application impression database 176.

After the example impression logger 204 has allocated impressions totheir respective databases, at subprocess 606, the SSID classifier 212accesses the SSID detection impression database 172 and classifies eachdetected SSID as either a vehicle SSID or as not a vehicle SSID.Subprocess 606 is described in further detail in FIG. 7.

The example device ratio determiner 216 identifies time periods forwhich the example mobile device 110 is located within the examplevehicle 106 by accessing the SSID detection impression database 172 andclassified SSID database 214 and identifying time periods in the SSIDdetection impression database 172 that correlate to an SSID classifiedas a vehicle SSID (block 608). After identifying when the example mobiledevice 110 is located within the example vehicle 106, the method 600continues to block 610.

The example device ratio determiner 216 determines a ratio of mobileapplication 132 usage to infotainment application 118 usage (block 610).Additionally or alternatively, the device ratio determiner 216 candetermine application usage ratios of individuals or selecteddemographics; a user usage pattern of mobile device application usage;and/or usage amounts between one application available on both theexample vehicle infotainment system 108 and the example mobile device110.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart representative of the example subprocess 606 toclassify detected SSIDs as vehicle SSIDS or as not vehicle SSIDs. Theexample subprocess 606 can be performed at least in part by computerreadable instructions executed at the example audience measuremententity 102 of FIG. 1. Additionally or alternatively, the example methodcould be done at least in part by the mobile device 110 and/or thevehicle infotainment system 108. Subprocess 606 starts at block 702.

The SSID classifier 212 selects an SSID to evaluate and the subprocess606 continues to block 704 (block 702). For example the SSID classifierselects an SSID from the SSID detection impression database 172 that hasnot been yet classified. In various examples, the SSID classifier 212may reclassify SSIDs formerly classified as not a vehicle SSID. Afterthe example SSID classifier 212 has selected an SSID to evaluate, thesubprocess 606 continues to block 704

The SSID classifier 212 determines if the SSID has met an SSID detectionthreshold (e.g., the SSID has been detected at least three times in oneweek) (block 704). If the SSID detection threshold has been met, thesubprocess 606 proceeds to block 706, otherwise if the detectionthreshold has not been met, the subprocess 606 proceeds to block 708 andthe SSID is classified as not a vehicle SSID. In other various examples,the detection threshold may be greater or fewer than 3 detections in aweek.

The SSID classifier 212 determines if additional SSIDs were detectedwhile the selected SSID was detected (block 706). If additional SSIDswere detected, the subprocess 606 proceeds to block 710, otherwise thesubprocess 606 proceeds to block 708 and the SSID is classified as not avehicle SSID.

The SSID classifier determines if, while the selected SSID was detected,one additional SSID meets a predetermined detection time threshold(e.g., the additional SSID was detected for less than twenty minutes)(block 710). In various examples, the predetermined time threshold maybe greater or less than twenty minutes. If the additional SSID meets thepredetermined detection time threshold, the subprocess 606 proceeds toblock 712 to increase an SSID counter, otherwise the subprocess 606proceeds to block 714 to check for more additional SSIDs to evaluate. Inthe illustrated example, the example subprocess 606 proceeds to block716 after the SSID counter has properly incremented.

The SSID classifier 212 checks if there are additional SSIDs to evaluate(block 714). If there are no more additional SSIDs detected while theselected SSID was detected, the subprocess 606 proceeds to block 708,otherwise the subprocess 606 proceeds to block 710 and the SSIDclassifier 212 evaluates the additional SSID.

The SSID classifier 212 determines if the SSID counter has met apredetermined quantity threshold (e.g., the quantity of detected SSIDsis at least 8 SSIDs that meet the predetermined detection timethreshold) (block 716). In other examples the quantity threshold may begreater or less than eight SSIDs. If the quantity threshold has beenmet, the subprocess 606 proceeds to block 718 and the SSID classifierclassifies the selected SSID as a vehicle SSID, otherwise the subprocess606 proceeds to block 714 to check for additional SSIDs to evaluate.

After the classifier classified the selected SSID as not a vehicle SSID(block 708), or the classifier classified the selected SSID as a vehicleSSID (block 718), the subprocess 606 proceeds to block 720. The SSIDclassifier 212 checks if there are more SSIDs to be analyzed (block720). If more SSIDs are to be analyzed, the subprocess 606 returns toblock 702, otherwise the subprocess 606 returns to block 608 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an example processor platform 800 capableof executing the instructions of FIGS. 6-7 to implement the audiencemeasurement entity 102 of FIG. 1. The processor platform 800 can be, forexample, a server, a personal computer, a mobile device (e.g., a cellphone, a smart phone, a tablet such as an iPad™), a personal digitalassistant (PDA), or any other type of computing device.

The processor platform 800 of the illustrated example includes aprocessor 812. The processor 812 of the illustrated example is hardware.For example, the processor 812 can be implemented by one or moreintegrated circuits, logic circuits, microprocessors or controllers fromany desired family or manufacturer.

The processor 812 of the illustrated example includes a local memory 813(e.g., a cache). The processor 812 of the illustrated example is incommunication with a main memory including a volatile memory 814 and anon-volatile memory 816 via a bus 818. The volatile memory 814 may beimplemented by Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), DynamicRandom Access Memory (DRAM), RAMBUS Dynamic Random Access Memory (RDRAM)and/or any other type of random access memory device. The non-volatilememory 816 may be implemented by flash memory and/or any other desiredtype of memory device. Access to the main memory 814, 816 is controlledby a memory controller. In this example, the processor 812 mayadditionally include the example data receiver 202, the exampleimpression logger 204, the example SSID classifier 212, and the exampledevice ratio determiner 216.

The processor platform 800 of the illustrated example also includes aninterface circuit 820. The interface circuit 820 may be implemented byany type of interface standard, such as an Ethernet interface, auniversal serial bus (USB), and/or a PCI express interface.

In the illustrated example, one or more input devices 822 are connectedto the interface circuit 820. The input device(s) 822 permit(s) a userto enter data and commands into the processor 812. The input device(s)can be implemented by, for example, an audio sensor, a microphone, acamera (still or video), a keyboard, a button, a mouse, a touchscreen, atrack-pad, a trackball, isopoint and/or a voice recognition system.

One or more output devices 824 are also connected to the interfacecircuit 820 of the illustrated example. The output devices 1024 can beimplemented, for example, by display devices (e.g., a light emittingdiode (LED), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a liquid crystaldisplay, a cathode ray tube display (CRT), a touchscreen, a tactileoutput device, and/or speakers). The interface circuit 820 of theillustrated example, thus, typically includes a graphics driver card, agraphics driver chip or a graphics driver processor.

The interface circuit 820 of the illustrated example also includes acommunication device such as a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver, amodem and/or network interface card to facilitate exchange of data withexternal machines (e.g., computing devices of any kind) via a network826 (e.g., an Ethernet connection, a digital subscriber line (DSL), atelephone line, coaxial cable, a cellular telephone system, etc.).

The processor platform 800 of the illustrated example also includes oneor more mass storage devices 828 for storing software and/or data.Examples of such mass storage devices 828 include floppy disk drives,hard drive disks, compact disk drives, Blu-ray disk drives, RAIDsystems, and digital versatile disk (DVD) drives. In the illustratedexample, the mass storage 828, may additionally include the example SSIDdetection impression database 172, the example mobile applicationimpression database 174, the example vehicle application impressiondatabase 176, and the example classified SSID database 214.

The coded instructions 832 of FIGS. 6-7 may be stored in the massstorage device 828, in the volatile memory 814, in the non-volatilememory 816, and/or on a removable tangible computer readable storagemedium such as a CD or DVD.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the above disclosedmethods and apparatus may be used to calculate a ratio of mobile deviceapplication usage to vehicle infotainment application usage duringperiods of time a mobile device is located within a vehicle. Bycalculating this ratio or determining a user usage pattern of mobiledevice application usage, application developers will better understandthe tendencies of consumers to use mobile device applications overvehicle infotainment applications and invest their money and time intothe appropriate applications.

Although certain example methods, apparatus and articles of manufacturehave been disclosed herein, the scope of coverage of this patent is notlimited thereto. On the contrary, this patent covers all methods,apparatus and articles of manufacture fairly falling within the scope ofthe claims of this patent.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: an impression logger tostore a plurality of records of mobile device impressions in a memorybased on network communications received from a mobile device, themobile device impressions corresponding to usage of a mobile deviceapplication to access first media via the mobile device; a classifierto: determine whether a first number of detections of a first serviceset identifier (SSID) logged in the plurality of records during a firsttime period satisfies a detection threshold; determine whether a secondSSID logged in the plurality of records was detected for a second timeperiod that satisfies a time threshold; increment a counter when thefirst number of detections satisfies the detection threshold and thesecond time period satisfies the time threshold; and classify the firstSSID as a vehicle SSID when the counter satisfies a quantity threshold;and a logic circuit to, when the first SSID is classified as a vehicleSSID, determine that at least one of the mobile device impressionsoccurred while the mobile device was located in a vehicle based on theat least one of the mobile device impressions stored in the plurality ofrecords in association with the first SSID.
 2. The apparatus as definedin claim 1, wherein the impression logger is further to store a secondplurality of records of in-vehicle media device impressions in thememory based on second network communications from a vehicle, thein-vehicle media device impressions corresponding to usage of anin-vehicle media device application to access second media.
 3. Theapparatus as defined in claim 2, further including a device ratiodeterminer to determine a ratio of mobile device application usage toin-vehicle media device application usage based on the in-vehicle mediadevice impressions and based on determining that the at least one mobiledevice impression occurred while the mobile device was located in thevehicle.
 4. The apparatus as defined in claim 2, further including adevice ratio determiner to determine a user usage pattern of mobiledevice application usage and in-vehicle media device application usageby organizing application usage data into a first time segment and asecond time segment, the first time segment indicative of a firstpattern of mobile device application usage and the second time segmentindicative of in-vehicle media device application usage.
 5. Theapparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the classifier is to classifythe first SSID as a non-vehicle SSID when at least one of: (a) the firstnumber of detections does not satisfy the detection threshold, (b) thesecond time period does not satisfy the time threshold, or (c) thecounter does not satisfy the quantity threshold.
 6. The apparatus asdefined in claim 1, wherein the second time period occurs during thefirst time period.
 7. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein theimpression logger is to receive indications of multiple impressions ofthe plurality of mobile device impressions in a single message from themobile device.
 8. A tangible computer readable storage medium comprisinginstructions which, when executed, cause a machine to at least: store aplurality of records of mobile device impressions in a memory based onnetwork communications received from a mobile device, the mobile deviceimpressions corresponding to usage of a mobile device application toaccess first media via the mobile device; determine whether a firstnumber of detections of a first service set identifier (SSID) logged inthe plurality of records during a first time period satisfies adetection threshold; determine whether a second SSID logged in theplurality of records was detected for a second time period thatsatisfies a time threshold; increment a counter when the first number ofdetections satisfies the detection threshold and the second time periodsatisfies the time threshold; classify the first SSID as a vehicle SSIDwhen the counter satisfies a quantity threshold; and when the first SSIDis classified as a vehicle SSID, determine that at least one of themobile device impressions occurred while the mobile device was locatedin a vehicle based on the at least one of the mobile device impressionsstored in the plurality of records in association with the first SSID.9. The computer readable storage medium as defined in claim 8, furtherincluding instructions which, when executed, cause the machine to storea second plurality of records of in-vehicle media device impressions inthe memory based on second network communications from a vehicle, thein-vehicle media device impressions corresponding to usage of anin-vehicle media device application to access second media.
 10. Thecomputer readable storage medium as defined in claim 9, furtherincluding instructions which, when executed, cause the machine todetermine a ratio of mobile device application usage to in-vehicle mediadevice application usage based on the in-vehicle media deviceimpressions and based on determining that the at least one mobile deviceimpression occurred while the mobile device was located in the vehicle.11. The computer readable storage medium as defined in claim 9, furtherincluding instructions which, when executed, cause the machine todetermine a user usage pattern of mobile device application usage andin-vehicle media device application usage by dividing application usagedata into a first time segment and a second time segment, the first timesegment indicative of a first pattern of mobile device application usageand the second time segment indicative of in-vehicle media deviceapplication usage.
 12. The computer readable storage medium as definedin claim 8, further including instructions which, when executed, causethe machine to classify the first SSID as a non-vehicle SSID when atleast one of: (a) the first number of detections does not satisfy thedetection threshold, (b) the second time period does not satisfy thetime threshold, or (c) the counter does not satisfy the quantitythreshold.
 13. The computer readable storage medium as defined in claim8, wherein the second time period occurs during the first time period.14. The computer readable storage medium as defined in claim 8, furtherincluding instructions which, when executed, cause the machine toreceive indications of multiple impressions of the plurality of mobiledevice impressions in a single message from the mobile device.
 15. Amethod comprising: storing a plurality of records of mobile deviceimpressions in a memory based on network communications received from amobile device, the mobile device impressions corresponding to usage of amobile device application to access first media via the mobile device;determining whether a first number of detections of a first service setidentifier (SSID) logged in the plurality of records during a first timeperiod satisfies a detection threshold; determining whether a secondSSID logged in the plurality of records was detected for a second timeperiod that satisfies a time threshold; incrementing a counter when thefirst number of detections satisfies the detection threshold and thesecond time period satisfies the time threshold; classifying the firstSSID as a vehicle SSID when the counter satisfies a quantity threshold;and when the first SSID is classified as a vehicle SSID, determiningthat at least one of the mobile device impressions occurred while themobile device was located in a vehicle based on the at least one of themobile device impressions stored in the plurality of records inassociation with the first SSID.
 16. The method as defined in claim 15,further including storing a second plurality of records of in-vehiclemedia device impressions in the memory based on second networkcommunications from a vehicle, the in-vehicle media device impressionscorresponding to usage of an in-vehicle media device application toaccess second media.
 17. The method as defined in claim 16, furtherincluding determining a ratio of mobile device application usage toin-vehicle media device application usage based on the in-vehicle mediadevice impressions and based on determining that the at least one mobiledevice impression occurred while the mobile device was located in thevehicle.
 18. The method as defined in claim 16, further includingdetermining a user usage pattern of mobile device application usage andin-vehicle media device application usage by dividing application usagedata into a first time segment and a second time segment, the first timesegment indicative of a first pattern of mobile device application usageand the second time segment indicative of in-vehicle media deviceapplication usage.
 19. The method as defined in claim 15, furtherincluding classifying the first SSID as a non-vehicle SSID when at leastone of: (a) the first number of detections does not satisfy thedetection threshold, (b) the second time period does not satisfy thetime threshold, or (c) the counter does not satisfy the quantitythreshold.
 20. The method as defined in claim 15, wherein the secondtime period occurs during the first time period.